Matthew 15: 1-20

“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (v8).  Quoting Isaiah, Jesus said that though the Pharisees technically fulfilled the Law, they had no love for God or other people.  They encouraged people to give to the Temple instead of to their elderly parents, who had no other means of support (v5-6).  They were concerned about food and hand-washing, but Jesus said that sin flows out of the evil in our hearts (v19). 

Jesus lived out Isaiah’s message: The Father desires acts of obedience and sacrifice which flow from not from pride or guilt, but love.